The frail pensioner was robbed and attacked as she sat alone in the living room of her flat in St Leger Court, off Digby Road in Speen, on Saturday afternoon.

After ringing the doorbell repeatedly, four men in suits kicked the door in and burst into her living room.

One of the men pushed the woman roughly into the chair she had got up from, forced her to stay sat down by grabbing her shoulders and put a hand over her mouth as she screamed for help. They then completely ransacked the flat, pulling all the drawers open and going through her personal belongings, before getting away with around £40-50 cash.

Police believe they may have used an alleyway which runs onto the A4 to enter St Leger Court - the sheltered flats are opposite the Merant entrance near Waitrose.

The woman was uninjured bar a small cut to her face, but is obviously upset.

Police have conducted extensive house to house enquiries in the area and have witnesses reporting four smartly dressed men in the area at the time of the robbery, which happened at between 12noon and 12.30pm. They may have driven off in a silver BMW car or a white Escort. They are aged in their late teen to early 20s and are white.

DC Emma Lineham of Newbury CID said: “This is callous, cruel and despicable crime against a defenceless elderly woman. It is absolutely shocking and I am sure it will shock the Newbury community. The offenders are scum and we are determined to find who they are and bring them before the courts. They have committed an unforgivable crime and targeted a vulnerable woman and left her terrified in her own home.”

Sovereign Housing Association’s Supported Housing manager Phil Just added: "These attacks are mercifully rare, but have devastating consequences on their victims. We would urge all our elderly residents to double check identities before opening the door, and for those that have them, to call us via their pull-chords."

Anyone with information should contact DC Lineham or DC Rob Tomblin via the police enquiry centre n 0845 8 505 505, or leave a free and anonymous message with Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.